A calligraphic font with a Persian rhythm, for covers, posters and labels.
Zarafshan is a calligraphic display font. It is named after the river that runs past Samarkand, and it brings the rhythm of Persian calligraphy to the Latin alphabet: generous curves and an easy, flowing line give a single word the mood of an old tale. Set it large on book covers, posters, labels and menus.
Zarafshan takes the movement of the reed pen of Persian calligraphy and gives it to the Latin alphabet: bowls shaped like almonds, strokes that swell and taper, and exits that sweep toward the next letter. The letters never join, so any letter can follow any other, and every stroke ending shares one shape, so a word moves like one line of writing.
Every exit stroke ends in the same flame: laid over each other, the exits of a, d, h, m, n and u differ by less than one percent of their area, while the left-hand ends are always flat cuts. One shared ending makes a word read as one line of writing.
An almond, like the ink around it, tilted from upper left to lower right. One counter serves o, b, p and q and a second serves a, d and g, so the white inside the letters moves with the same rhythm as the strokes.
The exits sweep toward the next letter like a written line, but each one stops just short of its own edge. Across all 2,704 letter pairs, kerning included, none touch, so any letter can follow any other without a join to match.
Its finest hairline is about an eighth of its thickest stroke. On screen the hairlines stay whole from about 72 px; smaller, they turn grey and the letters break apart. That is why it is a display face, made for titles, covers and labels.
Zarafshan has the accented letters for 30 languages written in the Latin alphabet, so the same calligraphic Latin sets a label in English, French, German, Polish, Turkish or Indonesian. Choose a language to see a line set in Zarafshan.
Épices et soieries au marché de nuit
French letters: à â æ ç è é ê ë î ï ô ù û ü ÿ œ
Gewürze und Seide auf dem Nachtmarkt
German letters: ä ö ü ß
Especias y seda en el mercado nocturno junto al río
Spanish letters: á é í ñ ó ú ü ¡ ¿
Spezie e seta: il mercato è aperto di notte
Italian letters: à á è é ì í ò ó ù ú
Especiarias e seda no mercado da noite, à beira do rio
Portuguese letters: à á â ã ç è é ê í ò ó ô õ ú
Specerijen en zijde op de nachtmarkt
Dutch letters: á â ä è é ê ë í ï ó ô ö ú û ü ij
Espècies i seda al mercat de nit, vora el riu
Catalan letters: à ç è é í ï ò ó ú ü ŀ
Kryddor och siden på nattmarknaden vid ån
Swedish letters: å ä ö é
Krydderier og silke på natmarkedet ved åen
Danish letters: å æ ø é
Krydder og silke på nattmarkedet ved elva
Norwegian letters: å æ ø é è ê ó ò ô
Mausteita ja silkkiä yötorilla joen rannalla
Finnish letters: ä ö å š ž
Krydd og silki á næturmarkaðnum við ána
Icelandic letters: á æ é í ð ó ö ú ý þ
Przyprawy i jedwab na nocnym targu nad rzeką
Polish letters: ą ć ę ł ń ó ś ź ż
Koření a hedvábí na nočním trhu u řeky
Czech letters: á č ď é ě í ň ó ř š ť ú ů ý ž
Korenie a hodváb na nočnom trhu pri rieke
Slovak letters: á ä č ď é í ĺ ľ ň ó ô ŕ š ť ú ý ž
Fűszerek és selyem az éjszakai vásárban
Hungarian letters: á é í ó ö ő ú ü ű
Mirodenii și mătase la târgul de noapte
Romanian letters: ă â î ș ț
Nehir kıyısındaki gece pazarında baharat ve ipek
Turkish letters: ç ğ ı İ ö ş ü
Vürtsid ja siid öisel turul jõe ääres
Estonian letters: ä õ ö ü š ž
Spíosraí agus síoda ag margadh na hoíche
Irish letters: á é í ó ú
Spìosraidh is sìoda aig margadh na h-oidhche
Scottish Gaelic letters: à è é ì ò ó ù
Espeziak eta zeta gaueko azokan
Basque letters: ñ ü
Especias e seda no mercado da noite, á beira do río
Galician letters: á é í ñ ó ú ü
Erëza dhe mëndafsh në tregun e natës
Albanian letters: ç ë
Speserye en sy by die nagmark langs die rivier
Afrikaans letters: á é è ê ë î ï ö ô û ü ý
Rempah-rempah dan sutra di pasar malam
Rempah dan sutera di pasar malam tepi sungai
Mga pampalasa at seda sa palengke sa gabi
Filipino letters: ñ
Viungo na hariri katika soko la usiku
Yes. The Desktop licence covers personal and client work: book covers, posters, labels, menus, invitations, merch and print-on-demand products.
No. Zarafshan is a Latin font: it sets English and 29 other languages written in the Latin alphabet in a Persian calligraphic style.
Yes. A logo set in Zarafshan is yours to use; the font files themselves stay licensed to you.
Yes. Install the OTF on your computer or iPad, and any app that uses installed fonts can set it.
Yes, with the Web, App or ePub licence, sold on MyFonts and Gumroad. Our licence page explains the Gumroad licences in plain words; MyFonts uses its own.
Thirty languages written in the Latin alphabet, from French and German to Polish, Turkish and Indonesian. Each one is shown above.